Living organic soil from start through recycling CONTINUED...

[DARC MIND]

certain varieties of horsetail can be contained in containers, ive done this for 3+yrs & so do many nurserys

they thrive in damp soil but not impossible to prevent from spreading nor is comfrey impossible to kill

They ruin ecosystems, reduce biodiversity and dont support many native insects.

same has been said about modern agriculture hence the rise/shift to eco-agriculture & ecological design

 

[VerdantGreen]

in the 10 years ive been at my present house, the field horsetail has spread from a corner across the whole garden even though i pull it and compost it wherever i see it. (it was all lawn before which contained it to where it wasnt mowed)

at least horsetail doesnt smother everything it grows with so its not so bad..... but as a gardener i deal with the fallout of people's poor gardening choices on a daily basis. peeps dont think 50 years ahead when they plant a tree that will eventually shade their whole garden and make the soil dry... etc etc.

i guess in the UK we've had longer to fuck up our ecosystems and natural balance - and we've done a pretty good job of it.

being sensitive to the future impact of our gardening choices is all part of being an organic gardener imo, but each to their own.

VG

 

[Carlos Danger]

I've been through Hoboken enough times to find it hard to believe anything grows there - even horsetail.

I cannot more highly suggest "Dirt: the erosion of civilizations" by David Montgomery. Enthralling and scientific read.

 

[Payaso]

Let's get clear, and stay on topic... does C.Danger mean that he suggests "Dirt: the erosion of civilizations" - or NOT?

 

[Payaso]

Thanks for the informative read about nettles Vonforne! Turns out I was confused between nettles and thistles. Seems we are in thistle territory... too dry up here on the volcano to grow nettles.

You folks would get depressed looking at the soils around here... dead, sandy; or dead and rocky... lots of red rock, lots of bottle rock in the area also. Shards of volcanic glass litter the area from the last eruptions... (NOT yesterday by the way )

It's a challenge I accept.

 

[Coba]

"being sensitive to the future impact of our gardening choices is all part of being an organic gardener"

I do not disagree.

 

[Carlos Danger]

Payaso, thanks for the catch there!

 

[shokdee]

It's a challenge I accept.

Found a one hour vdo: Dave Montgomery - Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations

And the book online at google books

Thanks Carlos Danger, I'm going to watch the vdo today.

 

[vonforne]

NP Payaso.

I forgot to add yesterday that kelp is also a dynamic accumulator, one which we all use but cannot grow. lol Collect yes but not grow. I love the smell of kelp meal too...........

 

[vonforne]

Thanks for the informative read about nettles Vonforne! Turns out I was confused between nettles and thistles. Seems we are in thistle territory... too dry up here on the volcano to grow nettles.

You folks would get depressed looking at the soils around here... dead, sandy; or dead and rocky... lots of red rock, lots of bottle rock in the area also. Shards of volcanic glass litter the area from the last eruptions... (NOT yesterday by the way )

It's a challenge I accept.

Your land is not worthless......lava rock makes a great aeration component replacing the standard perlite. Give it a try and also using some local soil in your mixes. Just in small amounts.

 

[vonforne]

Got my 20 comfrey roots in yesterday. Horizon Herbs sent me 23 and not 20 so I will pass on 3 to a friend who wants to get into organic growing.........just have to get him to put down the bottles..............

All were nicely growing in their bags. I have a spot I have been working on in the back and added some of my old ROLS that had been cycled a few times that had DE in it and since I was not going to use DE anymore I thought it would serve me yet once again and help sustain the new comfrey roots.

When the get up and going I will post some pictures of their little area.

V

 

[Coba]

Thanks for the informative read about nettles Vonforne! Turns out I was confused between nettles and thistles. Seems we are in thistle territory... too dry up here on the volcano to grow nettles.

You folks would get depressed looking at the soils around here... dead, sandy; or dead and rocky... lots of red rock, lots of bottle rock in the area also. Shards of volcanic glass litter the area from the last eruptions... (NOT yesterday by the way )

It's a challenge I accept.

volcanic rocks are the best Payaso,
red rocks have iron. obsidian is silica, pumice is used for aeration and basalt is the best for rock dusts.

I bet, with some compost treatment that soil would be really good to grow in. You could even bust that stuff up with a sledge hammer.(caution:wear protective eye wear and don't breath in the dust) and use as rock dust for soil mixes, the darker the colors the better.

 

[Carlos Danger]

I've been blessed by deep alluvial soil, but there would be something pleasing about spending a life building a layer of soil over that rock.

 

[vonforne]

I found one or two types and of Horsetail that grow in my area. This one is the most common one I will keep it contained to containers when I bring it on the property.

V

 

[VortexPower420]

Von- I was pondering the effectiveness of putting nutrient accumulator plants in containers.

I feel it is kinda beating around the bush, the plant can only uptake what it has available to them. If all you are supplying them is a soil mix you made with bought ingredients, then i feel it defeats the purpose.

Plants only do as well as the surrounding soil that supports them. With that in mind certain "weeds" will grow better in one soil type then another, every plant has a specific enzyme system that keeps them happy and allows them to grow to their potential, and every enzyme system has a accompanying mineral composition.

For example Yarrow I likes sand/clay soils with little nutrition and humus. A great waste place road side soil builder. You can have that yarrow give off thousands of seeds and they will only germinate where the soil has the right mineral/enzymes system active. While yarrow grows in many types of soil it thrives on "dead" soil.

I would be interested if it would work well and the yarrow would flourish or if it flop because of the rich soil I am sure you will use.

I like using accumulator plants a lot. Importing nutrients into my garden by way of plants fits my way of life perfectly. I like them just because of that reason importing minerals from deep within the earth to provide to my plants at no cost and little impact on the enviroment.

Just my thoughts

Timbuktu

 

[VerdantGreen]

if it's silica you are after then comfrey is high in it too, and the bocking 14 sterile cultivar will not invade your garden. i think that would be a better one to cultivate as it has pretty much everything.

 

[DETStrainKey]

Whats going on im not sure how to post on you page yet but im looking forward to testing let me know some info.

 

[VerdantGreen]

DET if you click on my name (above my little avatar pic on the left) you will go through to my profile page and you can post a message to me there! or you can post in my forum on the front page where the cherryjuana thread is.

VG

 

[vonforne]

Von- I was pondering the effectiveness of putting nutrient accumulator plants in containers.

I feel it is kinda beating around the bush, the plant can only uptake what it has available to them. If all you are supplying them is a soil mix you made with bought ingredients, then i feel it defeats the purpose.

Plants only do as well as the surrounding soil that supports them. With that in mind certain "weeds" will grow better in one soil type then another, every plant has a specific enzyme system that keeps them happy and allows them to grow to their potential, and every enzyme system has a accompanying mineral composition.

For example Yarrow I likes sand/clay soils with little nutrition and humus. A great waste place road side soil builder. You can have that yarrow give off thousands of seeds and they will only germinate where the soil has the right mineral/enzymes system active. While yarrow grows in many types of soil it thrives on "dead" soil.

I would be interested if it would work well and the yarrow would flourish or if it flop because of the rich soil I am sure you will use.

I like using accumulator plants a lot. Importing nutrients into my garden by way of plants fits my way of life perfectly. I like them just because of that reason importing minerals from deep within the earth to provide to my plants at no cost and little impact on the enviroment.

Just my thoughts

Timbuktu

Vortex- I am going to grow the Yarrow in my yard------mere meters from the field it was harvested from. The soil in my yard is heavy clay, sandy, rocky so it should do good there. The horsetail is what I am worried about but it too came from just a couple miles from me. I just don´t want the horsetail to go wild in my yard..........I might put it down by a pond instead of in a container in my yard. Everything I am collecting is native to my area and grows well here. Everything. I do not kind of importing but the comfrey and I am sure the True comfrey grows here but have not found it yet.

 

[vonforne]

if it's silica you are after then comfrey is high in it too, and the bocking 14 sterile cultivar will not invade your garden. i think that would be a better one to cultivate as it has pretty much everything.

I am going for diversity............to use many different ones in the soil building process. It is one of the things Jay used to tell us in the OFC. Diversity.

By next spring I will be cycling 7 and 10 gallon smarties in my flower room.........with all the things I have collected. The yarrow will be mostly for compost making in the end.